Why You’re Never Too Old to Learn Mandarin

Somebody tell the one who came up with the phrase, “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks”, because you can. The truth is, you’re never too old to learn something new, whether it be a skill or another language. This includes Mandarin, which has now gone from being a nifty trick to a valuable asset, especially for people who are looking to start or further their career. You see, anyone can learn the Chinese language. It doesn’t matter what your age is, and it doesn’t matter where you are.

Below are a couple of reasons to convince you why you’re never too old to learn the Chinese language.

1. You Have Less Pressure to Learn the
Language

Unlike younger people who feel pressured to learn
Mandarin, you’re likely doing so at your leisure and free time. This makes you
more receptive to the lessons compared to your younger contemporaries.
Additionally, as an adult, you’re more mature and goal-oriented. This allows
you to be more efficient when it comes to learning a new language.

2. You Can Choose How You Want to Learn

Because you’re an adult who has both the time and money
to learn however you want, you can choose to learn the language on your own by
using resources readily available online or by hiring a private tutor or by
going to a group class.

Either one of these things works just fine. What’s
important is that, because you’re in control of your time, you can schedule
your learning process accordingly at a pace that’s comfortable and conducive to
you.

3. You Can Travel

There’s no better way to learn a language than by
immersing yourself in their culture, and as an adult, you can do that.

If you’re keen on learning Chinese Mandarin, the best way
is to fly to another Chinese speaking country, or at least, go to a place where
the majority of people speak Chinese Mandarin, and bond with the locals. Also,
because you have the resources that your younger contemporaries don’t have, you
can buy supplementary materials to help you learn the language better, such as
books or movies.

4. You’ve Learned How to Learn

Face it. You’ll never be as quick as you used to be. Your
memory is also not as sharp as well. But, you do have one thing that teenagers
and children don’t have – experience.

With old age comes years of learning. Or, to cut it
short, you have learned how to learn. You have used multiple strategies over
the years and knew which one works for you best and which ones don’t. Sure,
your brain may not pick up the language as quickly as someone years younger
than you are, but you are much better at “self-directed learning” as a result
of your superior experience.

So, age doesn’t matter. If you want to learn the Chinese
language, you absolutely can. You may not be able to achieve the same fluency
as that of a Native speaker, but, so long as you keep at it and approach it
with the right attitude, you should be able to learn Chinese Mandarin to speak
and understand the language well enough to use in daily conversation.